The Effect of Task-Based Learning on EF Students’ Learning Reading: A Case Study in the Mekong Delta of Vietnam

Abstract

This article reports the results of an experimental study testing the effects of the use of Task-Based Learning on EFL students’ intrinsic motivation to learn reading and reading comprehension. The study was conducted in a high school in the Mekong Delta of Vietnam where English teaching methods are still lagged behind innovative developments in English language pedagogy. Sixty-nine tenth-grade students from two intact classes participated in this study. Participants were assigned in either control or experimental group. A questionnaire and two reading tests were used to collect quantitative data about participants’ motivation and achievement in reading comprehension. Interviews were followed to investigate participants’ attitude towards the use of task-bask learning in their reading lessons. Results indicated that participants’ intrinsic motivation in the experimental group increased and both groups showed significant improvement in reading comprehension. Participants in the experimental group addressed benefits and challenges in learning reading comprehension with Task-Based Learning. To help students enhance their reading comprehension, teachers may take into consideration the use of both Task-Based Learning and Grammar-Translation Method.